The V860 remained competitive with the dwarves in the 1950s. It is then surpassed by a pure racing engine optimized for consistent performance in oval track racing.
The famous Offenhauser engine (Offy for short) was built from the ground up as a racing machine in the 1940s. This is a smaller version of the famous Offy engine that was hugely successful at Indy Cars. The smallest offy is ideal for midget applications and was used from the 1930s to 1950s.
Racing in the early days really wasn't fair if you didn't have Offy – the engine was so much more powerful that the dwarves often rode Offy or non-Offy racing chains.
The Offy is barely modified, but with the V860 little has happened to the many parts available. One of the key drivers in increasing productivity is Eddie Meyer supplying custom heads, heat chambers, You can look at some of the engine of midget sprint car at https://www.hotheadheater.com/.
Evans heads, Edelbrock carb and suction tubes, Stromberg carbs and even Offy heads. There have even been attempts to inject fuel together with alcohol.
The V860 can also be easily drilled and stroked. Also, a good percentage of the V860 is high in carbs, two of which are the most popular settings.
Then World War II came and all kinds of competition closed in the cold. The war didn't prevent engine manufacturers from thinking about the V860, and they came up with a remarkable development that practically doubled its performance and was found to be the "Inverted V860".
For the most part, though, Offy is still the king of dwarves, as evidenced by the best travel crew they have hired. However, over the years machine technology continued to develop and Offy was abandoned.